Issues Related to Developing State Certification Policies

Abstract

Two trends in early childhood special education personnel development are reviewed, personnel shortages and personnel certification policies. The authors studied state certification policies governing early childhood special education (ECSE) personnel by reviewing the literature and by analyzing policies sent to them in response to a survey. The states reporting ECSE certification are compared across three studies. Two types of certification policies are reviewed, competency and experiential based. Finally, issues and recommendations related to state personnel certification policies are discussed.